Bullish mood holds NETDA for rapid growth outlook

The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area (NETDA) was among the first group of 14 national-level economic and technological development zones in China. It was established on Dec 19, 1984 upon the approval of the central government. 

Its economic growth prospects are holding strong for this year and next year in the NETDA, despite a significant majority of economists in a poll warning that new variants of the coronavirus pose the biggest risk to that outlook.

New breakthroughs made in opening-up

The development zone has spared no effort to promote economic internationalization. Many companies have globally-leading technological and production capacities. They are separated into six major industrial clusters: modern equipment manufacturing, new materials, new medicine, new energy, modern textiles, and service outsourcing. The development zone has grown into an advanced manufacturing base utilizing foreign investment in the Yangtze River Delta area and is a key industrial base in Shanghai's one-hour economic circle.

To date, the actual annual utilization of foreign investment has been maintained at around $600 million, and more than 2,000 large-scale enterprises have been set up, attracting more than 800 foreign-invested enterprises with a total investment of over $20 billion, among which more than 80 percent were established by Fortune 500 companies.  

New steps taken in transforming and upgrading industries 

The NETDA is currently focusing on opportunities in the new round of global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and has established new guidelines focusing on the development of the new generation of the information technology industry, intelligent manufacturing, and big data so as to form new advantages in industrial development.  

In addition, a group of 42 talent projects related to biomedicine, engineering and architecture, electronic information, new energy, and more, have been producing a batch of industrial yielding.  

The integration of industry and city presents a new image

The green corridor of the Nengda Central Park has a total area of 22.67 hectares, a length of 12.1 kilometers, and a width of 100 meters, forming a regional ecological green space system combining points, lines, and surfaces with a green coverage rate of 36 percent.